All about Writing Research Paper Abstracts Including the Do’s and Don’ts

Research paper abstract includes the summary of four sections in general for the research paper i.e. introduction, methods, results and conclusion. Abstract just involve the text related to these sections in accordance with logical order of the research paper. Research paper abstracts do not involve anything new in the paper; for the same reason, an abstract for research paper is presented as unified and coherent text.

Scientifically, an abstract should include all the keywords relevant to study as those keywords may include important terms or concepts regarding the topic of your study. In general, there are two types of abstract i.e. descriptive and informative.

Descriptive Abstract: It identifies the content of research involved in subject of your research without including results or conclusion. This kind of abstract is not informative and useful for submission of a long report.

Informative Abstract: It provides the principal arguments about an abstract and gives review to the reader about objectives, methods, results and conclusions involved in study

Content in an abstract should include the following:

Purpose of Research

Methodology/Methodologies Adopted for Research

Findings of Results

Conclusions

Research paper abstracts should provide answers to the following questions:

1.What did you research and why?

2.What did you find through your research?

3.How did you accomplish your research task?

You should avoid giving the statement of scope for writing an abstract for research paper. An effective way to begin the research paper abstract is to start you paper with sentences which do not offer any real information to the user such as: The paper reports on a method for ………..

Here are some DO’S and DON’TS which you must keep in mind at the time of writing research paper abstracts:

DO'S DON'TS

Use a Single Paragraph Don't Add Anything New in the Paper

Use Simple Language Don't Use Abbreviations

Use Short Sentences Don't Add Opinions

Use Active Voice Don't repeat the Information

Use Transitional Sentences Don't include any references related to literature